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Movies are often a catalyst for us to experience the grieving process. A movie storyline can trigger a grief response, or we can identify with a particular movie character when we are grieving. I have a feeling each of us may have examples of movies that have helped us grieve or allow us to feel through the grieving process.
I have chosen to explore the Disney movie Frozen 2 in this blog post. Frozen and Frozen 2 are two of my all-time favorite movies. Both have strong spiritual messages in them that speak to me to the depths of my spiritual core. I love nature. For me, nature plays a large part in my spiritual practice. I identify with nature and spirituality on such a deeper and personal level.
For those of you who are not familiar with this movie it is a sequel to the movie Frozen, a story of sisters Elsa and Anna. Other main characters include Olaf, a magical snowman, Kristoff, and Kristoff’s reindeer Sven. This movie has special meaning for me because it highlights the love between two sisters, explores the concepts of transformation, change, grief, forgiveness, trust, and love among others.
This movie reminds me that even though we do not like change, change is inevitable. Change comes in many forms. Fear can keep us from embracing change. Fear of the unknown, moving out of our comfort zone, saying goodbye to someone we love, facing a sometimes scary world alone – all can affect how we grieve. In the movie, both Anna and Elsa had to face parts of their journey alone. Both found the strength and resilience to keep going in the face of fear, uncertainty, and loss. Both experienced deep love in the form of giving and receiving during different parts of the movie. They both also had to learn to trust – trust themselves, one another, and nature. When we trust ourselves enough to allow ourselves to feel, we open the door to healing. When we begin the healing process transformation can be a part of the end result if we so choose. I don’t believe transformation is ever complete. We continue to be transformed with every experience, every opportunity for growth.
We can experience transformation at any time. It can be as the result of a death of a loved one, a midlife crisis, a shift in perspective, a spiritual awakening, a conscious choice to make a change or do something differently. It can be a quiet shift, an “aha” moment, or it can feel like an earthshattering moment. We may choose to share it with a trusted loved one or we can keep it to ourself. There is no end to the experience called transformation.
The soundtrack for this movie touches me to my core. “Into the Unknown”, “Show Yourself”, and “The Next Right Thing” all melt my heart and speak to me on a deeper, more spiritual level. This movie reminds me that change is inevitable and that we get to choose our response to change. When we step into our Power, find our voice, and trust that the Universe, nature, or however you refer to your Higher Power is ultimately guiding you, transformation unfolds. We have our support with us along the way if we let them in. It could be as our friends, family, mentors, teachers, even the “sandpaper people” those whom we don’t easily get along with in our everyday lives. It could be our faith and the spiritual principles that we study and practice.
Some of my favorite quotes from the movie include “Do the next right thing.”, “Fear is what can’t be trusted.” and “One thing that is permanent is love.” I wonder how many of us experience these same thoughts or feelings when we are grieving? For me Frozen 2 is a movie that depicts grief, change, and transformation in a healthy manner.